Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-10-07
TIE RACE KAR.

1t is difficult to clearly understand the
true state OF affairs existing in Southern
Texas in regard to the reported race war.
The rumors, reports and statements gre
SO numerous and conflicting that report
ers on the ground can do little more
than collate the various phases Of the
trouble as they appear to them. The
dispatches published in THE GAZETTE
yesterday are of nature to suggest
the propriety of sending state troops
to the disturbed counties, not for the
purpose of preventing e negro up
rising, but to prevent the neces-
sity for too many negro funerals.
An impartial consideration Of the dis
patches sent out from that section,
official and otherwise, Will convince any
one that while there are some bad negroes
there, there are some worse white men.
In the first plsce colored officer had to
srrest white man for violating the law
in not working the road. He did so in
the discharge Of his duty, and since then
cannot be found. Whether he suddenly
conceived the idea of becoming fugitive
from Justice on account of i iondness for
beef, as is claimed on the one side, or
that be Wss murdered by his prisoner
as is claimed on the other cannot be
determined, but other features of the
trouble go TO show that there ere
white men very careless shout handling
rifles in that country. 1t Is reported that
white man belonging to posse emp
tied his Winchester into negro whom
he had met in the woods, and afterward
turned the dead body over "to see if he
had the right one." The same man. after
emptying his six shooter into the head of
PROSTATE negro, rode around all dav
not clearly shown that the negroes did
anything wrong. The report that they
were about to hang white man must be
taken with q grain of salt. The i'm
probability Of the tales told by the
whites Is such as to lessen confidence in
all they say. 1t is admitted by
ell the whites that the negro Marston
was found in his cotton patch, very ap-
propriate place for him to be found BY
the way, and that he was shot down in
his tracks. 9ne-half the whites VINO
witnessed the shooting claim that ne was
unarmed. Just why he was molcsteo is
not stated by the reporter, and it would
be difficult for those who shot him to
tell, in manner satisfactory to the
luries of the country. The claim that
ne had shotgun is improbable in
view OF the fact thSt many Of
the white men say he was
unarmed; the claim that one negro with
a shotgun would attack end attempt to
fight 8 score of white men armed with
Wlnchesters is absurd. Nobody will be-
lieve but what his death wss murder.
Again, the negro, Shepherd, who defend
e ! his cabin sgainst posse of whites,
Notwithstanding they shot the roof of,
and filed the walls with lesd, does not
seem to have Fgiven other offense
than that he would not be taken
alive. The white men had no
business molestiHg the negro; they
had no warrant for his arrest, they
were not officers Of the law and were the
aggressors. The cry of negro rising
sno the general massacre of the whites
being SO imminent, coming from section
OF country where such condition of affairs
exists, seems to be made only to divert at
tention from the true criminals and fasten
it on their victims. The conduct of
Spoford, who insisted on killing two
defenseless negroes who were prisoners
and in hiding from him. is simply atro-